Fuse



R. H. RlNES June 21, 1955 FUSE Original Filed Oct. 29, 1945 I INVENT/Zmw 02M BY ATTORNEY Unit Patented June 21, 1955 FUSE Robert HarveyRines, Brookline, Mass.

Original application October 29, 1945, Serial No. 625,162. D6ivided andthis application August 4, 1947, Serial No. 7 5,882

21 Claims. (Cl. 102-70.2)

The present invention relates to fuses, and more particularly to fusesystems for exploding shells or other projectile explosives from a pointremote from the shell or the projectile. This present application isfiled in response to a requirement for division in application, SerialNo. 625,162, filed October 29, 1945.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel radiocontrolled firingsystem.

A further object is to provide for controlling the burst of a shell orother projectile explosive from a point distant from the position of theprojectile in motion.

According to present-day techniques, after a projectile, such as a shellor a rocket, has been fired from a projector toward a target object,such as an airplane, the time of its explosion is controlled at theprojectile itself. The explosion may, for example, be under the controlof a time fuse, a powder-train fuse, a radio-transmitting-andreceivingmechanism, or a photocell fuse in the projectile. The control is such asto assure the explosion of the projectile at the moment of its approachtoward the airplane object. If a time fuse or a powder fuse be employed,the target airplane is detected, its line of flight is plotted in orderto make possible the prediction of its future position, and the timemechanism in the projectile fuse is set accordingly before firing. Inthe case of a radio fuse or a photocell fuse, the explosion of theprojectile is effected by the mere fact of its proximity to the targetobject, and no further control from the ground is necessary. All theseprior-art methods are subject to the disadvantage that the projectilemay explode at a time or a place where it will not harm the enemy andmay, in fact, damage a friend. At the very least, a premature or atoo-late or otherwise useless projectile explosion may serve to informan enemy aircraft that it is under fire. In the case of proximity fuses,furthermore, firing at lowfiying aircraft in low quadrants of elevation,for example, will often cause premature explosion because of theproximity of the ground to the shell;

A further object of the present invention is to provide a fuse mechanismfor exploding the projectile accurately, at any desired time during itsflight, from the point r of its firing, or from any other positionremote from the projectile.

Other and further objects will be explained hereinafter, and will beparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention will now be more fully explained in connection with theaccompanying drawing, the single figure of which is a diagrammatic viewof a fuse system arranged and constructed according to a preferredembodiment thereof.

According to the system disclosed in the parent application, and as isdescribed also, for example, in an article by H, G. Foster, entitled,Radar in A. A. Defense, Electronic Engineering, vol. 18, No. 215,January 1946, pages 2 to 8, a radio-location or sound-location or otherlocator system may be employed to detect and track objects, such asaircraft, the data so obtained being used desired remote point, anarming device, such as an arm to fire anti-aircraft guns or rockets orother projectiles at the objects.

Once a shell or other projectile is fired at an object, it is desired tocause the shell to explode when it approaches within a lethal area ofthe object. Thus a radio-location or other detecting station can trackthe shell as well as the object and can determine when the shell hasapproached Within such a predetermined range of the object that it woulddo damage if it were exploded. At this instant, the radio-locationstation may send a special radio trigger signal, as described in theparent application, towards the shell to cause it to explode. Areceiving-mechanism fuse provided in the projectile 9 will then causethe projectile to explode almost immediately, since radio waves travel3X10 meters per second.

This receiving mechanism, according to the present invention, maycomprise a receiving antenna or a plurality of antennas, providingomni-directional reception or a field pattern that permits receptionfrom the direction of the firing point or any point from which theradio-triggering signal is to come. Two dipoles of dimensions resonantto the trigger signal frequency are shown at 31 and 54, preferablymounted externally to the fuse 55. If desired, the fuse casing 55 itselfmay constitute the antenna system, being of dimensions resonant to theradio frequency of the radio trigger signal.

The antenna or antennas feed into the fuse to energize alight-transparent radio-frequency cavity resonator 33 of dimensionsresonant to the radio Waves transmitted by the trigger transmitter. Theradio-frequency resonant cavity 33 may be spherical, as shown, or of anyother desired shape, and may be constituted of polystyrene or any othersimilar light-transparent material that serves as a conductor ofhigh-frequency radio waves. The resonator may be filled with anilluminating agent; for example, a rare gas, such as neon or argon.

The antennas 31 and 64 are shown connected to the resonant cavity 33 bycoaxial lines 47 and 48, respectively, the inner conductors of whichprovide feed-in or coupling loops which may terminate on the inner wallof the resonator. The radio-frequency energy received and conducted bythe coaxial lines and coupling loops is thus fed into the gas in thecavity resonator 33, resulting in ionizing the gas therein, whichtherefore becomes illumi nated. The illumination may be focused by alens 35 upon a photocell 37, connected in series with a source ofvoltage, such as a battery 49, and an igniting mechanism 39, such as acharge, as of powder, for exploding the explosive mixture of the shellor projectile.

When the trigger transmitter at a remote point, perhaps at theradio-location station or at the guns, thus sends a radio signal that isreceived by the antennas and energizes the resonant cavity 33,therefore, the light from the ionization of the cavity resonator gascauses current to How in the light-sensitive circuit of the photocell37. upon which the light is focused, thereby causing a suifi cientlylarge current to flow through the charge 39 to ignite the charge 39 andto explode the shell.

If desired, the light-transparent radio cavity resonator may bemaintained partially ionized by a striking potential from an energysource 5d. The current produced in the photocell circuit is adjusted sothat it is not enough to ignite the charge 39 When the radio energy fromthe trigger transmitter (not shown) is conveyed into the cavityresonator, the gas will become further ionized,

producing an increased intensity of light discharge and a greatercurrent in the photocell circuit for setting off the mechanism 39.

To prevent premature operation, thereby further to control the explosionof the projectile at any desired time, or when it occupies any desiredposition, from any the photocell circuit open, by holding down a switch43, for example, until such time as the projectile has traveled adesired or predetermined length of time. At the end of this time, thearming propeller 41 will have unscrewed itself from the fuse nose inflight, thereby releasing the switch 43, and completing the photocellcircuit in the fuse for operation upon the receipt of the energizingradio-trigger signal from the remote point.

Other and further modifications will occur to persons skilled in theart, and all such are considered to fall within the spirit and scope ofthe invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A fuse having, in combination, means for receiving radio wavesresonant to the frequency of the received waves, illumination-producingmeans, means for feeding the energy of the received radio waves to theillumination-producing means for producing illumination in response tothe received radio waves, and means responsive to the illumination soproduced for energizing the fuse.

2. An explodable mechanism having, in combination, means for receivingradio waves resonant to the frequency of the received waves,illumination-producing means, means for feeding the energy of thereceived radio waves to the illumination-producing means for producingillumination in response to the received radio waves, explodable means,and means responsive to the illumination so produced for energizing theexplodable means.

3. A fuse having, in combination, means for receiving radio Wavesresonant to the frequency of the received waves, illumination-producingmeans, means for feeding the energy of the received radio waves to theilluminationproducing means for producing illumination in response tothe received radio waves, explodable means, means responsive to theillumination so produced for energizing the explodable means, and meansfor preventing the energization of the explodable means for apredetermined period of time.

4. A fuse having, in combination, means for receiving radio waves, alight-transparent cavity resonator connected to the radio-receivingmeans, the cavity resonator being provided with an illuminating agent toproduce illumination upon the receipt of radio waves by theradioreceiving means, means responsive to the illumination so producedfor energizing the fuse, and means for preventing the said energizationfor a predetermined period of time.

5. A fuse having, in combination, a charge, means for receiving radiowaves resonant to the frequency of the radio waves,illumination-producing means, means for feeding the energy of thereceived radio waves to the illumination-producing means for producingillumination in response to the received radio waves, and meansincluding a photocell in circuit with the charge for responding to theillumination so produced thereby to energize the said charge.

6. A fuse having, in combination, antenna means for receiving radiowaves, a light-transparent cavity resonator of dimensions resonant tothe radio waves and connected to the antenna means, the cavity resonatorbeing provided with a gas to produce illumination upon the receipt ofradio waves by the antenna means, and photocell-controlled meansresponsive to the illumination so produced for energizing the fuse.

7. In a fuse having explodable means energizable in response to anillumination signal, the combination of means for receiving highfrequency energy and a lighttransparent cavity resonator connected withthe receiving means and of dimensions resonant to the frequency of theenergy received, the resonantor being filled with a rare gas illuminablein response to high-frequency resonance therein to produce anillumination signal for energizing the explodable means.

4 8. A fuse having, in combination, antenna means for receiving radiowaves, a light-transparent cavity resonator of dimensions resonant tothe radio waves provided with a gas, means for partially ionizing thegas, means for 5 connecting the cavity resonator to the radio-receivingmeans to produce increased ionization of the gas upon the receipt ofradio Waves by the antenna means, and photocell-controlled meansresponsive to the illumination of the increased ionization so producedfor energizing the fuse. a

9. A fuse having, in combination, means for receiving radio waves, alight-transparent cavity resonator provided with an illuminating agent,means for illuminating the illuminating agent, means for connecting thecavity resonator to the radio-receiving means to produce increasedillumination of the illuminating agent upon the receipt of radio wavesby the radio-receiving means, and means responsive to the increasedillumination so produced for energizing the fuse.

10. An electric system having, in combination, means for receiving radiowaves, a cavity resonator having walls formed of light-transparentmaterial and connected with the receiving means and of dimensionsresonant to the received radio waves, and illuminating means controlledby the cavity resonator for indicating radio-Wave resonance therein.

11. An electric system having, in combination, means for receivinghigh-frequency energy and a light-transparent cavity resonator connectedwith the receiving means and of dimensions resonant to the frequency ofthe received energy, the resonator being filled with a gas illuminablein response to high-frequency resonance therein.

12. An electric system having, in combination, means for receiving radiowaves, a cavity resonator connected with the receiving means and ofdimensions resonant to the received radio waves, illuminating meanscontrolled by the cavity resonator for indicating radio-Wave resonancetherein, and an electric circuit responsive to the indication producedby the illuminating means for producing an electric signal correspondingto the said indication.

13. An electric system having, in combination, means for receivinghigh-frequency energy, a cavity resonator connected with the receivingmeans and of dimensions resonant to the frequency of the receivedenergy, illuminating means controlled by the cavity resonator forindicating high-frequency resonance therein and a photoelectric circuitresponsive to the illumination of the illuminating means for producingan electric signal corresponding to the said illumination.

14. An electric system having, in combination, means for receivinghigh-frequency energy and a cavity resonator having walls formed oflight-transparent material and connected with the receiving means and ofdimensions resonant to the frequency of the received energy.

15. An electric system having, in combination, means for receivinghigh-frequency energy, and a spherical cavity resonator having wallsformed of light-transparent material and connected with the receivingmeans and of dimensions resonant to the received energy.

16. An electric system having, in combination, means for receivinghigh-frequency energy, a light-transparent cavity resonator cooperativewith the receiving means and of dimensions resonant to thehigh-frequency energy and filled with an illuminating medium, and meansfor conditioning the illuminating medium for illumination in response tohigh-frequency resonance in the resonator.

17. A fuse having, in combination, means for receiving high-frequencyenergy, a light-transparent cavity resonator connected to thehigh-frequency-energy-receiving means, the cavity resonator beingprovided with an illuminating agent to produce illumination upon thereceipt of high-frequency energy by the high-frequencyenergy-receivingmeans, and means responsive to the illumination so produced forenergizing the fuse.

18. A fuse having, in combination, means for receiving high-frequencyenergy, a light-transparent cavity resonator connected to thehigh-frequency-energy-receiving means, the cavity resonator beingprovided with an illuminating agent to produce illumination upon thereceipt of high-frequency energy by the high-frequencyenergy-receivingmeans, and means comprising an illumination-sensitive circuit responsiveto the illumination so produced for energizing the fuse.

19. A fuse having, in combination, means for receiving high-frequencyenergy, a light-transparent cavity resonator connected to thehigh-frequency-energy-receiving means, the cavity resonator beingprovided With a gaseousdischarge illuminating agent to produceillumination upon the receipt of high-frequency energy by thehigh-frequency-energy-receiving means, and means responsive to theillumination so produced for energizing the fuse.

20. An electric system having, in combination, means for conductinghigh-frequency energy and a light-transparent cavity resonator connectedwith the conducting means and of dimensions resonant to the frequency ofthe conducted high-frequency energy, the resonator being filled with amedium ionizable in response to highfrequency resonance therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS915,280 Fessenden Mar. 16, 1909 1,506,785 Sperry Sept. 2, 1924 2,129,711Southworth Sept. 13, 1938 2,137,598 Vos Nov. 22, 1938 2,379,165Lawrence, lr June 26, 1945 2,405,814 Brannin Aug. 13, 1946 FOREIGNPATENTS 91,592 Sweden Feb. 24, 1938 584,942 Great Britain Jan. 27, 1947

